Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar — Attraction in Seattle

I trusted the shop because of all the good reviews. I would urge buyers to be wary. I paid a vast premium for a Princeton amp I was assured was in immaculate working condition, justifying the price. The sound proceeded to distort unusably the second time I used it. I sent it to a respected technician who said it had broken, and was likely in the process of breaking from the moment I switched it on. The tech also noted how dirty the inside of the amp was, contradicting the seller's description of it being "extremely clean."

The shop were initially great to deal with. They apologised for the damage incurred, and offered to discuss covering the cost of the repair. I paid for the repair, in good faith that they would keep to their word. They didn't.

I am in the process of having to begin legal action to try to recoup the $500 cost of the repair, import taxes of approximately $1000, loss of value costs and the other damages associated with importing the amp which was not as it was described.

The cruelty of taking responsibility for the damage, offering to discuss financial assistance...and then once the repair bill appeared pretending you never took responsibility or offered assistance, astonished me. It astonishes me even further to understand that this represents the owner's "concerted effort" to "do the right thing." My mind boggles at what his normal day to day behaviour, without this large effort, might look like.

In his response, the owner attempts sets up several "straw man" fallacies, a common manipulation tactic used to shift responsibility by mis-characterising the nature of someone's argument. The owner pretends that:

I expect the shop to pay for all repairs on my vintage gear, forever. I object to paying import tax.

These issues are of course unreasonable, and of course easy to dispute....but they are also not the issues that I raise in the review. This fact that he is having to distort my objections speaks to how weak his position is.

My only expectation was that the gear match the description as as is the legal the obligation of the shop, under distance selling laws in the United States. It did not.

I am claiming back all costs associated with importing the faulty gear. This isn't an objection to having to pay import tax, needless to say. It's an objection to all the money that I had to pay to purchase, import and repair at item which was different to its description.

This feeble attempt at manipulation (and de-legitimizing my legitimate negative review) is truly shameful behaviour. I urge the owner to take responsibility and honour his word, if he really is interested in doing the right thing. Doing the right thing is treating someone how you would want to be treated: I do not know anyone who like being lied to, likes being manipulated and enjoys people going back on their word.

I agree that the shop initially responded with caring words. But words need to be matched by actions. They weren't.

I wrote several months after receiving the amp, as this was my first time switching it on, because I was so busy with work. The owner is now attempting to use this as an excuse to blame me: this makes no sense. If the amp was in the condition I was told it was in, it should never have died after two hours of light use at a low volume. If it was only guaranteed to be in good working condition for two hours, this should have been noted on the description, as it's obviously of great interest to any buyer.

Even a minimum effort to do the right thing (never mind a concerted one) would involve contacting Fedex to claim the damage on the insurance. It must have been damaged in transit if what the shop says is true (that the amp left the shop in perfect condition). No such attempt was ever made.

Claiming "a concerted effort to do the right thing" is an unconvincing platitude in the face of the facts. Unless the owner is struggling with a pathology related to lying, it's a challenge to understand how this alarmingly dishonest behaviour might represent anyone's "concerted effort to do the...

I got to tell you all these guys are great. If I lived in Seattle I'd probably be in the shop a couple of times a week to see what's new or just to play, drool and torture. I recently got an all-original 1987 Gibson ES335 Blonde Dot Reissue w/Tim Shaw pups and as perfect as it looked in the pics, it was just seemed flawless in my hands, like it was cradled whenever it was out of the case.

Nary a mark or even a string mark on the headstock (which looks new with little or no aging on the logo) and it doesn't even have pick marks on the finish (what a score) and no wear on the back of the neck). Not an unplayed case queen, it shows some fret wear with lots of rmeat for re-crowning if I choose to later on which this tells me that the original owner did pull it out and play it, but I'm guessing he never let another soul touch it - great for me (I'll do the same)! Also not a single dead spot on the fingerboard and surprisingly good original tuners. I love this guitar and it's part of a large Gibson family now and those pickups sound indescribably great, actually better than any of my patent sticker T Tops if you can dig that...

Also I want to point out how nice they were on the phone and after some negotiating on my part they were able to make me a deal I couldn't refuse and also obliged on my special shipping and delivery instructions to here in Memphis. It was very well packed in the original case and had some temporary cushioning inside the case to ensure it didn't move around in there and plenty of bubble-wrap in all the right places.

To go a step further I would like to point out that they went out of their way to follow up on the purchase to make sure I was completely satisfied. Also pointing out that the set-up was pretty spot on and although I always tweak my own setups to taste, I won't on this one until I change the strings. I still need to call them back and let them know how much me and my brother, Jeff, love it. We've both been playing since the 70s and know out sh**. I've been looking at their stuff for quite a while now and will continue to do so. Thanks 'Mom and Pop' from my and my brother (the...

I’ve been stunned by the friendliness, efficiency and professionalism of a recent transaction I initiated at Mike&Mike’s! Last Friday afternoon, (June 6th2025,) I bought a 2018 Les Paul Standard at a very reasonable price which was agreed upon over the phone. I was told to expect it by the middle of this week, which I would have expected. Sunday I had a notice from Fedex that my guitar had had shipped, was in transit, and expected to be delivered Wednesday. So far so good. However on Monday I received additional notifications that my guitar was expected to be delivered between 10:50am and 1:50pm on Tuesday! Needless to say, I was delighted! Then I made plans to adjust my schedule on Tuesday so that I could be at home to receive the guitar and sign for it as required. I didn’t have long to wait as the carton arrived precisely at 11:00. Now I understand that speaks to the timing of the purchase, and Fedex efficiency, but I think more so on the expediency of Mike and Mike’s shipping department. Upon opening the carton I was stunned by how perfectly it had been wrapped. Layer upon layer of bubble wrap supporting the guitar in it’s case so that there wasn’t any wiggle room whatsoever! In fact it was somewhat difficult to remove all of the wrap it was so snug! I was, and am, impressed! The guitar itself is flawless. It had been described as being in showroom condition, but in my 60 years of playing a multitude of guitars, both higher end Gibson’s and Fender’s one PRS, I’ve never seen any one of them in any showroom that was as flawless as this one is. It’s absolutely perfect. The setup is perfect also! There is a certain silkiness s guitar that exceeds any Les Paul I’ve ever played, and in fact the only other guitar I’ve ever played with this silky a feel was a much more expensive L-5. Now I don’t know if the limited run color ‘blood orange’ meant that the Gibson shop took extra pains with it, but it is just plain smooth all over. Even the board feels like ebony rather than rosewood. Anyway, I suppose I’m rambling, but I’m just extremely happy to have my expectations exceeded in all areas. Thank you...